Peter D'Agostino of the history department at the University of Illinois, Chicago, was found unconscious from"blunt head trauma" yesterday near his house in Oak Park and was dead on arrival at a local hospital. There was no sign of robbery. At 42, D'Agostino was the father of a newborn child and just hitting his professional stride. His colleagues and many professional friends are in shock at the news.

D'Agostino was a specialist in American immigration and religious history, who did his undergraduate work at Brown and his doctorate at the University of Chicago. According to the Chicago Tribune, his book, Rome in America, argued that papal myopia led to a compromise with Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. The book won the Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize of the American Society of Church History and was included in the Tribune's"Best of 2004" rankings. Professor D'Agostino's widow, Mary Mapes, is also a historian. She is the author of A Public Charity and an adjunct professor at Lake Forest College. Thanks to Manan Ahmed for the tip.

David Chioni Moore - 6/27/2005

Dear all,

Peter D'Agostino was my freshman hall counselor at Brown University in 1981-82. A sophomore, he could not have been more than 19 at the time, but was already giving, kind, sensitive, moral, and very bright. Folks he mentored then are now accomplished professors, community organizers, foundation directors, software engineers, school administrators, and more. We all carry a part of Peter and his enduring influence with us.

I post this simply to let historians know of one more fragment of the wide net Peter's legacy has cast.

-- David Chioni Moore
International Studies Dept.
Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN.